THE WITHERS 



The region of the anatomy called the withers 

 has no well defined limits. The word "with- 

 ers," therefore, while academic in hippology, 

 is not usually found indexed in text hooks on 

 anatomy. It is described as to shape in the 

 study of types, but seldom as regards to its 

 component parts, except in surgical anatomy 

 - — a branch of veterinary science that is as yet 

 ill-developed. The horse judge studies the 

 profile of the withers very carefully because the 

 general appearance of any given horse depends 

 a great deal upon its shape, its size and the 

 measurements of its dimensions. The surgeon 

 studies not only its shape and dimensions, but 

 its constituent parts as well and their complex 

 and disadvantageous arrangement from the 

 surgical point of view. 



It is important to note that the withers may 

 be high, low, narrow, broad, steep, sloping, 

 long or short, and that any two or three of 

 these characteristics combine to determine the 

 various types of withers of different individ- 

 uals. Graphic writers in describing equine 

 types often use such terms as sharp witliers, 

 low withers, liigli withers, long withers, thick 



